Undercover
by fairytaleofdust
Summary: Liz ends up alone after Red leaves her with one of his associates. What she didn't know is that this man was also being investigated by someone undercover. **KINDA connected to my other story, The Gala. I just mention some of the things sometimes.**
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - So, in a way this is a new story but I'm connecting it to my previous one, The Gala. A summary for those who don't want to read it:**

 **Red and Liz get a lead that could take them to the Cabal, the man who handles their finances, and his ledger. He then sends her to a gala to get the ledger, but there she finds Ressler, who had found the same lead by Jacob, and they were working together. In the end, she leaves the book with Ressler and escapes.**

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Ressler entered the post office early in the morning still feeling a bit sleepy. He smelled coffee from the break room and felt glad for his team. They had forced him to go home last night after he spent the whole day without eating. He went home, eat and old frozen meal he had forgotten in his fridge, and slept for a bit, but truly, he didn't learn. He left home early without having any breakfast. He just couldn't eat while this was still going. It was a waste of time.

He turned his attention to the room working at full speed. He was greeted by an excited Aram.

"Hey boss" he called him boss, and Ressler felt weird. He was about to order Aram never to do that again when Agent Navabi greeted him with more important news.

"we found something, on the ledger" Samar said, and the feeling of sleep disappeared from his body. The pain in the gut that came every time he remembered how they got to that ledger in the first place replaced it. The party, the man with the briefcase cuffed to his wrist, Liz in a beautiful red dress. He was never able to explain what he was doing there and how he got to the ledger, but something told him that the fact that his partners were ignoring the details was because they knew what he did, and were compiling with him.

"What?" He threw his briefcase on his desk and moved to see what they had. A photo of an old blonde man came on the screen.

"This is Charles McGann. He's accused of theft, money laundering and trafficking, and his name is on the ledger. Several times." Aram seemed concerned. "He's one of the greatest investors of the Cabal."

"Great. Let's see him." He said, moving towards the elevator.

"There's a problem there, Ressler" Samar said. "There's absolutely no proof against him. All these accusations are alleged. His record is spotless."

Ressler let go a disappointed grunt. "I hate these ones. They are criminals, we know that, and we can't do anything without crashing against a wall of crooked lawyers and technicality."

"And there's more" Aram added. "He's also a known associate of Raymond Reddington".

Of course he is. That's why he has no record. It was Reddington's work. He started to think of his old nemesis and remember how hard it was to hunt Reddington, and how much he hated him for always being a step ahead, just like he was now, with Liz. Elizabeth. He remembered her, and a terrible feeling of fear and concern invaded Ressler and even made him feel sick. He stood up on a jump. "But if he's with the Cabal, he might use his connection to Reddington to lure them. He may lead them into a trap." His voice was louder than usual, and he did not seem to have noticed it. The look of concern on Aram and Samar's face indicated that they thought exactly the same thing. "Aram, what can we do?"

Aram wasn't still completely sure of how far Ressler would go to save Liz. He had doubts whether his new boss really believed her, or if he had the sole intention to arrest her and make his career fly. This whole ledger idea made his trust in Ressler come back a bit, but he was still cautious.

"Nothing, really. Unless…" He had an idea, but he knew they wouldn't like it. "unless we do it undercover."

"undercover?" Samar repeated, signs of thinking on her beautiful face. After a few seconds, the woman showed with her features that she understood him. They communicated beautifully, thought Aram.

"If we go undercover, we might find a breach that would allow us to bring McGann in. I can go in as an assassin, gain his trust, become part of his party, and then dig around."

"No" said Ressler, firmly. "I'll go".

"Ressler, they need you here. Besides…" she said, and looked at him from head to toe. That man oozed law enforcement. He would blow his cover in seconds.

"Besides what? I'll go, that's an order." And he turned to go to his office, trying to make his decision final. It wasn't final for the woman, who pursued him.

"Samar, I said it. I'm going, and that's it."

"Ressler, you won't last 10 seconds in there."

"How can you know that?"

"You are not a criminal. You cannot be made to look like a criminal. You don't know how to be that, not even as a cover."

"And you know?" he said, and immediately remembered that she had killed a man for Mossad. She knew, and yes, she would be a better choice for that; But he could not, would not be just sitting there waiting for news. They could have already been looking for McGann's help. He wished he had a way to contact Liz and warn her.

"I can't, Samar." He revealed. "I have to know."

Samar understood, and closed the door of his office behind her. "You saw her, didn't you? At that gala, she was there. What happened there, Ress?"

He wanted to tell her, but knew he couldn't. His collaborating with Phelps, helping Liz there, it was all so not him. He was already ruining his career; he could not bring Samar and Aram with him.

"You don't want to know" he let go, because he knew that somehow that was no lying to her. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled a bottle of whisky from there. Samar looked shocked.

"It's 7 in the morning, Ressler!"

"Look I haven't had breakfast, and you come and tell me that they might be in danger, and there's nothing we can do. Just let me, will ya?"

"No." she said, and grabbed the bottle from him as he was opening the lid. "I'll get you a coffee. You figure out how you are going to build a convincing cover."

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Liz was pacing back and forth in that foreign room, extremely mad at Red. The strange man she now had to trust was trying to calm her down, his efforts to absolutely no use. She wanted him to go before she couldn't control her anger anymore.

"Look, honey, it will all be okay. You can trust me, honestly. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Reddington, that man saved me numerous times. I love him" he had a faint of scorn in his voice that made Liz's stomach revolve. How could Red trust this guy, how could he have left her?

"He left me here." She said, still walking about the room, nervous. "and did he say why? What's going on?"

"Reddington didn't want to leave you, sweetheart. But he had problems to solve. He'll be back before you know it."

She finally sat on the bed in the center of the room, crossed her arms and legs as if she wanted to shield herself from that situation.

"Meanwhile, you will be safe with me. We'll create a new identity for you, just to be safe, my men will never know who you really are and why you're here."

"Why? You don't trust them?"

"Sweetie, I don't trust anyone. Now, what do you think of Alice Katrall? You'll be the protégé of a friend, and came here to learn some things to help you with your law degree."

"Whatever", she said, and lay down on the bed, hands still crossed over her chest. The man bowed, and made his way towards the door.

"Make yourself comfortable, take a shower, relax. You won't be doing much. Consider this some vacation from your run. The police will never find you here."

She thought of her run, and her old partners at the bureau, and somehow missed them. But he was right, she would stop for a while.

"We have a kitchen, but you have drinks and snacks in the mini fridge over there. help yourself, and if you need anything, just tell Lavender, your maid. She'll be here twice a day to clean and check on you."

"I won't be leaving this room, then?" she said, fearing that her vacation just turned into a prison.

"Absolutely, that's not what I meant. You're free to roam the house as much as you can. Wouldn't recommend leaving to the streets, though. But I'm sure you know why. Just make sure to be discreet."

"What if your men start asking questions?"

"They won't. But if they do..."

"I'll sneeze." she completed, and the man looked puzzled. She waved away the advice her ex-husband gave her while she was keeping him cuffed to a chair in their house. "Forget it. You say they won't, they won't."

The man was crossing the threshold when she raised her head, and asked what had been on her head from the start.

"What's your name?"

He turned to look at her with a smile on his face, and for a moment, he looked trustworthy. "Charles McGann, at your service."

"Ok, Mr. McGann. You can call me Elizabeth. Or Alice, right? But if you ever call me sweetie, or honey or any other pet name again, I swear I'll kill you in your sleep."

The man only chuckled as he turned away, closing the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - this chapter is to bring a bit of the other story, and a conclusion to what happened in the end, that so many of you asked about it. Please, review!**

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Elizabeth turned the radio clock on as a sign of defeat. She was trying to sleep for hours, and it was now 5:23 am, she didn't see any reason to keep trying. The volume was down but it was enough for it to fill the empty room with the music. Outside, it was dead silent. It was weird to think that the house of a criminal would be so silent, with everybody sleeping, so normal.

She kept observing the light of the moon that was coming from the window and made patterns on the ceiling, trying not to think about what was keeping her up. A few weeks ago she came really close to being arrested. She thought of the risk she had taken going to that gala, all alone. She wondered what was Red's reasons to keep her alone for so long. First, there, now here, what was going on? He had been right next to her ever since she was first accused of being a Russian spy, and now he was MIA. She was surprised to be genuinely worried about him.

Russian spy. It was such an absurd accusation. She wasn't Russian, and she was definitely not a spy. She never met her mother, how could they believe this nonsense? She thought of her father, Sam, and if he knew about all this, her mother, her past. Of course he knew. She just wanted to know more as well.

At least she now knew that the most important people knew of her innocence. For a long time she doubted Ressler's belief in her, and feared, she would have to fight her ex-partner. She turned to her side and his freckled face came to her mind in such a realistic way, it felt as if he was there with her. Last time they saw each other, he had helped her and she kissed him. She wondered what he thought of that. She wasn't sure herself. She had never thought of him that way. She observed how he was with Audrey, and always considered him boyfriend material. She saw how destroyed he was when Audrey died, and how much he must have loved her, and thought that, although Audrey had first broken up with him because of his work, their love told her it was worth the risk. Hell, she had given up a marriage to go back to Ressler. Something in there said he was worth it. Now, is he interested in her, Elizabeth? She didn't know. It wasn't as if they flirted, or something. They were good partners, and he learned to trust her and consider her a good agent, but had he ever thought of her that way? She didn't know.

She laughed at herself when she remembered the kiss. What was she thinking? Truth is she missed him a lot, and the fact that for those few hours he wasn't hunting her, accusing her or trying to take her into custody felt good. Maybe that's why she kissed him. That's all, it was a 'thank you for believing in me' kiss. Yes, that was it.

Then the memory of the kiss came to her as she tried to convince herself of that conclusion, and it hit her like a bolt of lightning. How she went for his lips in a sudden movement, the way they fit perfectly and how time stopped at that moment. Then she remembered that he responded to her kiss. He kissed her back. Why had she forgotten that? When it was over, he kept his eyes closed, as if he wanted it to continue; and as she approached him to whisper in his ear, he motioned towards her, and his hands brushed her hips as if he wanted to hold her, but he hadn't been fast enough.

She breaths in deeply, trying to wave away the shivering that thinking about it brought to her body. At that moment, she wanted him. "God! Am I in love with Ressler?" she thought, and couldn't answer it.

It was strange to think about that, being in love with another man, as she had been dedicated to the same man for years. A man that she then found it was a fraud, a lie, and yet she couldn't see herself free of him. After kissing Ressler, she escaped with him. Tom, or Jacob, his real name. He was now trying to enter her life as his real self, and she wasn't sure that was a good idea. On one hand, she didn't want to let go of Tom, of what they had had for all those years. They got married, had a house, and planned to have a family. What if they had really adopted that kid? It had been so strong, so real. And she knew that he was holding on to that as well. She didn't know if he was trying to be a new Jacob, or if he wanted to go back to being Tom.

She thought of his face when she climbed through that window, after kissing Ressler. A mixture of sadness, confusion and anger showed in his face, and she didn't want to explain anything to him. They ran, and she tried to keep her distance. When they were far enough to stop running, they kept sharing looks and she knew it was going to come, that conversation, the "what the hell was that?" and "it's none of your business" and the "the hell it ain't!" It happened a little bit like that.

He found an opened car close by and they entered it. She kept guard as he was trying to jumpstart it. The car growled as a sign it was on, and Jacob just changed the gear to 'D' and drove away. As they entered the highway, she kept observing the window, trying to avoid looking at him, when he started.

"Have you and Ressler…" he wanted to know if that kiss meant she and Ressler already had something. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then answered in a soft voice, still looking through the window.

"No. we've never had anything else rather than a professional relationship." She remembered when she spent her birthday with Ressler, with Chinese food that was a tradition for her and her husband, and an old wine Red told her to share with someone special, and felt like lying.

"So, that…" he couldn't say it. they had kissed. She kissed another man, in front of him. That was it.

"I don't know why." She answered, stopping him from having to complete his sentence. She then turned to look at him, his attention towards the road, but she could see he was hurt. "I just…." She didn't know how to complete that. I just wanted to kiss him? I felt like doing it? What could she possibly tell him without hurting him? Then, she wondered why she was so concerned about that man's feelings. He wasn't her husband anymore.

"That night, on the boat..." of course he would bring that up. It wasn't about being her husband anymore. It was about the fact that she had accepted him as Jacob, or at least seemed to.

"Look, Tom… Jacob" She corrected herself. He wasn't Tom! "That night meant something, but things changed. I am a fugitive, I didn't go with you, and I think it was for the best."

"Do you? Because I don't, Liz. Right now all I want to do is keep driving with you until we are far enough from this mess, and then go to my boat and do what we meant to do after that night. Somehow, I think you want this too."

How could he know what she wanted? Now, lying in that strange bed, having time to consider all things, she dreaded herself for sleeping with him again. That was a moment of clear weakness.

"Look, that day I was scared. I was desperate, and to be honest, I was trying to regain something that I thought I had. But I never did, right, Jacob?" she stressed his real name to emphasize the fact that she had loved Tom Keen, a man who never existed, and he should know that.

"So you are in love with Ressler now?" he said, his voice louder than usual, his grip to the steering wheel so tight she could see the veins in his arms.

"I don't know!" she said, and was surprised by the fact that it came out as a scream. He looked at her for a moment before looking back at the road, and then took a deep breath, clearly to control his rage, his jealousy.

"I didn't like to see that, Liz" he confessed.

"Well, I don't care what you felt." She lied. She didn't know why, but she was upset she had hurt him. At the same time, she didn't regret it, not then in the car, not now, alone in the bedroom.

After that conversation, Jacob stopped at a gas station and she lied to him saying she needed to go to the bathroom. Then she ran away from him, found a payphone and called Red to pick her up. She never looked back, or talked to him after that day. She wondered if he had contacted Ressler. She wished he hadn't. It was complicated enough without having them working together. She didn't want Ressler to kill his career by collaborating with Jacob Phelps, and definitely didn't want them working together because of her.

The first lights of the day were coming into the room, and she felt sleepy. As she was hiding in this man's house, she had no obligation of waking up early, or even leaving her room. She covered her eyes with the blankets and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N - Ok, very long chapter, but at least I put everyone on the same place, already. don't forget to review!**_

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Donald looked at himself in the mirror and barely recognized his reflection. He wasn't wearing a disguise or anything, but the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans instead of his usual neat suit was strange enough. Still, his image was of a cop, and he was starting to agree with Samar that he wouldn't last long in this mission.

He shook away this feeling, thinking about Liz and how she was in danger unless they were able to seize Charles McGann before Red went to him for help. He thought that the concierge of time would be furious if he knew that one of his most frequent clients was involved with his enemy; and briefly wanted him to be there to solve this. It would be much easier if Red just took this matter into his own hands this time.

He still wasn't sure how he would infiltrate McGann's gang. It wasn't easy to know who was associated with him, and it wasn't like he could just knock on his door and offer his services as a mercenary. He would have to find someone who was, and was stupid enough to slip his tongue.

They already knew where to start. They would go to bars where criminal crooks usually hang out, and then wait for a signal of someone connected to McGann. Then, it was time for Ressler to do his magic, and cause an impression.

Samar was there as backup, which would sound like a bad idea if the woman couldn't protect herself. By the time they had any lead on who these people were serving, she had been catcalled more than 10 times, some of those made Ressler so angry he even ruined his cover to take everybody in. Luckily, she efficiently drove them away, and even nerly broke the arm of one who came too close. He couldn't help but laugh at the poor man.

Suddenly, she used her charm to approach Ressler, as if telling everybody else that she was the one who chose whoever she wanted, which was a good idea, because the bad lines were replaced by demonstrations of strength, in a sad example of how men can be pathetic when it came to women. She took a sip of Ressler's drink and whispered.

"That man, 6 o'clock, he mentioned something of McGann. You might wanna check that." He nodded as a thank you, put his palm on her back and kissed her on the cheek. He wasn't really sure if that was okay, but he was trying to get into character. Later he would deal with the awkwardness of that. Then, he gulped the last of his drink and moved towards the man Samar indicated, who was playing pool.

Ressler pick a stick and started prepping it when the man opened his arms and said "This is a private game, pal, get lost."

Ressler only put 500 dollars on top of the pool table and said "bet you can't win me." The man looked at the amount of bills in front of him and his mercenary instincts tingled. He signaled for the other men to give up the sticks and started prepping the table for a new game. "Game on, friend".

Ressler was good at pool. That was probably one of the many talents that was wasted on him as an FBI agent. Who would've known he could actually beat someone's ass at it so efficiently. The game didn't last more than 20 minutes. He grabbed the money on the side of the table and gave a bill to a waitress that was passing by, ordering a new drink. The man looked visibly angry. A little bit more provocation and maybe he would know.

"So, want a rematch or are you out of 100's?" he tried to sound as scornful as he could, and inside him his uptight policeman side was desperate. This was definitely not him. He just hoped he was convincing enough.

"You're on!" the man said, fishing some more bills from his wallet, and then signaling to another man, who looked like a subordinate, to give him some more. The man was able to put 340 more dollars on the bet, and Ressler laughed. He had 1,000 given to him from the bureau for this mission, and he had already made 500 more. He used this to his advantage. "I'll cover the rest for you, doll". The man frowned in response to the teasing.

The game started, and Ressler decided to give it more time. Meanwhile, he would try to start conversation, and maybe find out if the man really worked for McGann. "so, what do you kids do around here? Just hang around the bar and play bad pool?" The man was clearly angry, but also interested in Ressler. Maybe he got the right guy. "Why? You new in town?" Yeah, just came out of a nice gig, you know. Looking to get a new deal."

In one new shot, Ressler hit 3 balls into the pockets, to the amazement of the group. The man was now more interested than angry at him, and he got the offer he was hoping to get. "My boss might have a place for you. What can you do?"

"Anything that involves great amounts of money", said Ressler, and hit another ball into the pocket again. The man stopped him with the stick and said "Ok, then, big shot! Let's see it, then. I'll take you to him." Ressler knew that it was a desperate attempt to stop the game before he lost again, so he grabbed the money and put it into the man's shirt pocket. Then, leaving the stick on the table, waited for the man to go in front of him. "Lead the way, man. I'm Donald." And showed his hand for the man to shake. He ignored it. "Let's go Donnie."

After an awkward car ride, where he went on the backseat between two big men, they arrived at a very big house. Ressler was still worried he had attracted the wrong gang, as the men hadn't said who their boss were yet. He tried to get it from them.

"So, what's the name of the big one?" no one looked at him. He was now starting to fear they may know he is a cop, and were taking him into a trap.

The man from the pool game took his phone out and spoke briefly in it. "There's a new one. Seems good, but conceited. I know, sir. Right away." He turned the phone off, stick it into his pocket and then left the car. Then, looked at the back and signaled to Ressler to follow him.

"Mr. McGann doesn't like bullshit, so I recommend you stop with your big shot actions from now on." Mr. McGann. Ok, right place. "He's going to see you and will probably try to test you. are you up for it?"

"No problem". He said, wondering what kind of test he would have to endure.

They walked in silence through a long corridor that opened into a big room, much like a ballroom. That house was very big and flashy. McGann was the kind of guy who liked to show off.

The man came into the room followed by two big guys wearing guns on his side. He opened a smile and looked like a regular guy, just like Red would look. Ressler already hated him for it. The man sat on an armchair on the corner of the room and asked Ressler to sit on the chair in front of him.

"So, hun…." He sounded as if he wanted his name, so Ressler completed with his alias "Donald Smith"

"Donald. What brings you here?"

"I was kicking your man's ass here on the pool table and then asked if he knew of a place I could get some work."

"Well, you know, my dear, I need good trustworthy man. I have a reputation to uphold and I'm sure I am not like any of your previous employers. Can you give me some names, by the way?"

"Raymond Reddington" Ressler didn't even think, and for a moment regretted saying it. He didn't know if the man could contact Red to check it, and didn't know if Red would back him up in this plan. But he took the risk.

"Oh, really? You are one of Red's men? And may I ask why you aren't anymore?"

Damn, what now?

"Mr. Reddington and I had a temporary deal. I finished my time, and he no longer needed my services." Ok, that sounds plausible.

Well, if you are acquainted to Red's, then, I have the right job for you. I have a precious little package to protect for Red here. And you'll be in charge of it." He turned to the man on his left and said "bring me the girl, please".

Ressler's stomach froze as if a thousand ice cubes had just fell in it. Girl? Red's package to protect? What did that mean?

The biggest of his fears came true when she entered the room. She looked upset, wearing a dress that was too short for the Liz he knew. When she looked at him, she seemed as startled as he was. She gulped and then tried to disguise her despair, turning to McGann.

"what is it?" she said, and then did her best to ignore Ressler's presence.

"My dear, this man here, Donnie, said he used to work for Red. I just thought that he might be the best choice to protect you in your period here as my guest. What do you think?"

"Whatever." She said, and then looked at him, her eyes screaming doubts and fear. He tried to calm her down via looks, but didn't know if his messages still went through to her like that. She looked away.

"Of course he can only do that if he pass my test." McGann said, and then signaled to the man on his right, who then left the room without saying a thing.

"what test?" said Ressler. The man came back carring a man, bruised and bleeding, hands tied to his back and blindfolded. Ressler took a deep breath.

"This is Jr. Jr here promised me something, and then promised the wrong people the same things and, well, broke his promise. And you know, I hate when people break promises. So, he has some information I want and you are going to take it for me." Ressler knew he would not be able to be his old FBI self in this one, not if he wanted to gain McGann's trust. He looked at Liz, who was about to cry. She knew what he would have to do, and wasn't happy about it. "You have 1 hour, pretty boy. You can follow Kyle here to the room, I don't want blood in my carpet."

Kyle grabbed Jr. by the collar of his ripped shirt, and the man screamed "No! help! I don't know anything, I swear". He was completely ignored by the men in the room, and Ressler followed him nervously, turning one last time to look at Liz, and think about all that was at stake now that she was there.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N - Ok, honesty hour. I'm freaking out about this chapter! I did a thing, but I don't know if I should have. I don't know if it is too OOC, if it is too fast, or even if it makes sense with the rest of the story. but, what the hell, I just did it. Please comment!**_

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He entered the room and closed the door behind with a thud that startled her. It had been 2 hours since the conversation on the living room and she was starting to think he didn't do what he had to and was now dead. Her hair was up on a bun and was sitting on the bed, wearing a t-shirt for pajamas. She had taken a shower and tried to look as if she wasn't desperately worried about him. The tv was on but she wasn't watching it. Her face was covered in tears. She jumped off the bed and went to him. His face was bruised, and he looked tired. She carefully touched the wounds, and he twitched with the pain.

"What the hell happened?" she said, worried.

"There was more than one test." He said, flinching when she touched the side of his body. She reacted, scared, and then moved him to an armchair next to the bed, then carefully raised the t-shirt to see what was going on. He had a very nasty bruise on the side of his chest, and she was worried he had a broken rib.

"What?" she stuttered, tears coming back to her. It was her fault they were in this crazy situation. She didn't know why Ressler was there, but whatever happened to him now, it would be her fault.

"After I got the information from that guy" they crossed looks, and it was clear he didn't want to talk about that. "they tested me for reliability. They wanted to know if I was resistant to what I had just done. So a big guy entered the room and started to rough me."

Liz covered her mouth and stepped back. She took a deep breath, and looked scared, and he hated that look. He didn't move, and they stood on this position for almost a minute when she broke the silence.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, afraid someone would hear them. He was undercover, she knew that, and she would protect that secret, even though in normal circumstances it would be a great opportunity to make him back off his hunt for her.

He didn't answer. Thousands of things were going around in his head, and he even felt a bit dizzy. In his mind, he could hear himself saying, "Elizabeth Keen, you are under arrest for the murder of the Attourney General of the United States, Tom Connoly, and acts of terrorism." But he dreaded that picture. Instead, he decided to be honest with her, and tell her everything. If they were both there with the same enemy, they might as well work together.

"Charles McGann is with the Cabal. His name is on the ledger, several times. We were concerned you and Red would look for his help, as it did happen. Where is Red?"

"I don't know. Something about Dembe. He truly trusts McGann" she said, and then thought that Red didn't really trust anybody. But does he know of McGann's connection to the Cabal? Would he leave her there unbeknownst if he did? There was no way to talk to him, and she hated him a little bit more for that.

"McGann's file is clean. Red's work, of course. We need something to take him in and question him about the Cabal. So I went undercover."

"You? why not Samar?" even Liz with this story of him not being able to convince undercover. Look at me! I'm all fucked up, and they didn't kill me! I just had to nearly kill a man to prove myself, goddammit! His look explained everything, and she didn't say anything anymore.

He flinched again trying to find a comfortable position. She felt sorry for him.

"Why don't you try to take a shower?"

"I should go. I wasn''t supposed to be here. There's a room where I can be, sharing with another guy, apparently. They might have a bathroom there."

"I have a bathroom here. Just use this one." She insisted, feeling that he wouldn't have any kind of treatment if he went away. She didn't want him to go away, to be honest. He looked at her and, feeling her concern, agreed.

"Ok. Can you help me?" and he put his hand up for her to help him get out of the armchair. She then helped him to remove his t-shirt, and it all became intense for a moment. As the fabric left his face, he saw her face really close to his and all he could think of was the kiss they had shared a few weeks ago. She was holding his hand with her right one, and the discarded t-shirt with the other, and the closeness made her close her eyes and breathe deeply. She threw the t-shirt on the floor, and looked up to meet his eyes. They were really close, closer than what Ressler would consider acceptable due to the fact that she was a hunted criminal. Hell, she was his partner! She was Liz! Why was he still thinking of her as something she was not?

He shook these thoughts off his head and was about to move towards her when she touched him in the rib, and it hurt. He growled with the pain and she stepped back, scared.

"sorry! Sorry, sorry!" she was far away again, and the moment was over. It was for the best, he thought, even though his instincts were begging for her.

"I'll just…." He said, moving towards the bathroom, going against himself. She agreed, and went towards the other way, head down, as if she was ashamed. He just went straight to the bathroom and closed the door.

 _ **Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

He left the bathroom a few minutes after and was feeling better. The shower had really helped and he even found some painkillers in there, and the pain in his rib was wearing off. His hair was wet, and so was his bare torso. He was wearing the jeans, but had his feet bare too. Liz was sitting on the bed, watching old music videos on vh1. He looked at the radio clock on the bedside table and saw that it was 2:10am. The sky was completely dark out the window and the corridor was completely silent.

"Yeah, it's completely silent here at night" she said, reading his thoughts. She was glad that he was there, although all battered and bruised. It was actually common to see Ressler like that, and she laughed at the thought. He looked at here confused.

"It's nice to have you here." She confessed, and he felt warm inside. Even though it would be hell if anyone at the FBI knew that she was there and he hadn't called her in or anything, and wasn't even planning on doing that, it was really nice to see her like that. It was different from the other times, when she was running from him, or even at the gala, where they danced together. For a moment he could close his eyes and imagine they were at his apartment, sharing Chinese food and talking about whatever subject throughout the night.

"Are… are you hungry? I have a mini fridge and lots of stuff here. " she moved out of the bed, and went to the cupboard next to it where she had some snacks. He denied it and just pointed to his t-shirt, on the floor. She picked it up and took to him, coming too close, again.

This time, it was too hard to ignore the feeling. Her big blue eyes were so scared, so different from what he was used to see. He wanted to erase all this for her, protect her and make it go away. The effect of the painkillers gave him some renewed courage, and he just moved towards her, pulled her up and kissed her.

A few seconds passed for him to realize what he had done, and he started to step back when she grabbed his head between her hands and kissed him back. With this sign of permission, he put his hands around her waist and brought her closer to him, until their bodies were touching completely.

Whatever was going on at this point in their lives completely vanished as they kissed. Her hair was still moist from the shower but they fell in slow motion when he untied it from the bun, and she grabbed him by the waist, being careful not to touch the bruise on his rib; in a single movement, they fell together on the bed.

 _ **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The tv was still playing old songs with strange videos, the sky was still dark. The corridor was still silent and Liz was still a fugitive. But if there was something that was completely changed from now on, that was their relationship. With the woman comfortably lodged on his arm, Ressler used the other hand to rub his eyes, still trying to figure out if it was real or not. It was a weird image, them together on a bed, and of all circumstances, in a criminal's house, undercover. The weirdest of the situations, and he thought that absolutely no one in the FBI could know about that, or his career would be ruined. She moved next to him, and his career concern vanished. He turned to kiss her on the forehead, and she chuckled.

"What the hell happened here?" she said, ironically. They met eyes and for that moment all the weirdness of the situation was not there, just her. She smiled as a sign that yes, she thinks it's weird too, but she's fine with it.

"We're in big trouble, Keen. Big, big trouble." She laughed out loud, and the sound of her laugh brought weird sensations to his stomach. Something he had just felt for Audrey. Hell, is he in love with her?

"Imagine the faces in the FBI if they found out Special Agent Donald Ressler found one of the top wanted criminals and, well, slept with her?" she was still laughing, and he laughed too.

"I'd be working in the post office for real" he played with the name of his task-force.

The laughing stopped, and she asked, serious.

"what now, Ress?"

He caressed her arm, which rested on his chest. "Honestly, I don't know. I'll go on with the plan, and try to find something against McGann. I think you should try to contact Red, to get you out of here."

"So you're not taking me in, then?"

He took a deep breath before answering this one. "I can't. You're safer with him, Liz, I know that, and it's time I stop going against the reality of it all. The Cabal is deep within the bureau, and if I take you in I'll get the laurels for putting a needle in your arm. I thought that maybe we could use the system to our advantage, give you a fair trial, use our resources to prove your innocence, but it's not how it's going to happen. They will give simply put you in death row and forget about it. and I'm just wondering it, they might just shoot you on sight."

"Or use me to bring Red in, and then kill us both. That's what they want, Ress."

He knew that. They wanted Reddington, and she was the perfect bait. That's why they had to stick together, running, and from now on he would use his investigation to help them, instead of standing on their way.

He moved away from her and stepped out of the bed, looking for his clothes. She sat up and stretched, covering herself with the sheet, and then turned on the lamp on the nightstand. The alarm clock showed 4:45.

"I better go. God knows what they would do if the new guy was found on your bed. We need to keep in good terms with this guy, until we find something useful against him."

"we?"

"well, what do you say of some undercover task, Agent keen?" she smiled, hearing him calling her that felt good. She brought her legs up and hugged them, felling drowsy.

"It would be nice if it was true"

"Try to find Red. In the meantime, we follow the plan, you're here hidden, and I am one of McGann's men." He finished wearing his clothes and shoes and went around the bed, towards the door. First, he stopped by her and gave her a kiss.

"Do you think it will all be over soon?" she asked, and tears were visible in her eyes. He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her head.

"I hope so."

And then he went out, closing the door behind him. She turned the tv and the lamp off, and then went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok, guys, two things I have to say about this one. 1 - bringing Red in is definitely an attempt to bring the story to an end. I'm just scared I'll get lost in it and then not finish it, as I have done with many of my fics (check it out). But I like this thing of connecting them, so maybe I can continue the plot in a new one later. 2 - I'm still not over the fact that Liz slept with Tom/Jacob in the boat before she ran. DAMN IT IS SO WRONG! So I made her think about it for a bit here. Oh yeah, 3 - sorry ;)**

 **Keep reviewing! xoxo**

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He woke up a little after 10:30 in his own bed, in a room that looked like a dorm room in college. His roomate was as messy as any freshman. He sighed and thought of how ridiculous that situation was. He sits up on the bad mattress, and grunts at the pain that it follows, missing terribly the nice mattress in Liz's room. But most of all, missing her. How had they gone from complete strangers to partners to enemies to lovers in just three years? It was a mystery he was never going to solve. It sounded ironic that Reddington was responsible for this hurricane landing on his life, the hurricane Elizabeth Keen. He thought if it would ever come a time that he would thank Red for this. Only if he wanted to live forever with the sarcastic grin of satisfaction of his nemesis.

The pain was back, but he didn't think he had a broken rib anymore. It was just a nasty bruise. He wished he had taken the pain killers from Liz's room, doubting that he would find it anywhere else, and he wasn't going to ask for some, definitely.

He got up and searched for a new t-shirt in the small bag he had brought with him. Inside there were a few more t-shirts, two more pair of jeans and some socks and underwear. And a gun, of course. He put the t-shirt on and locked the bag inside the nightstand next to his bed, and then moved out of the room.

He went to the kitchen and found some people there. It looked like a nice family, all of them sitting at the table, sharing breakfast. He felt a little sick, thinking that those men would probably kill someone after bagels. Nonetheless, he went straight for the coffee maker and poured some coffee into a mug.

He leaned against the counter, trying to hide his pain and ignore the looks towards him when Liz entered the room, ignoring the looks and whispers about her. She went to his direction and did the same as he did, pouring some coffee for herself.

She added 2 spoons of sugar and then snatched a bagel from the table before going back and standing right next to him. She didn't look at him at any moment, and he knew it was a good choice.

McGann entered the kitchen right after and greeted everybody with open arms. He looked like a great father, and Ressler couldn't avoid laughing at the false image in front of him. He took a sip of his coffee to hide the laugh.

The man started talking about something to the rest of the people in the room, and Liz turned around to slide the bottle of painkillers into Ressler's pocket. He felt so glad for her. They shared smiles and she mouthed "are you okay?" To what he just nodded. She turned around again and leaned on the counter next to him, her hand slightly touching his.

"Ah! I see you found your body guard, already, my dear." She sighed at the 'my dear' and it was clear to Ressler that she hated it. She took a sip of her coffee, put the mug into the sink and said "I don't need a body guard. So unless you want to pay him to stand in front of my door all day you should give him something else to do."

Ressler knew what she was doing. Put him as her protection would be great if they wanted an excuse to stay in bed all day, but he had a lot to do. He had to get involved with more of Charles McGann to find proof of his involvement with the Cabal. He moved his eyes from Liz to the man, waiting for his reaction.

The man frowned, giving up on one more attempt to get Liz's sympathy. He just nodded and said "if you say so. C'mon Donnie, let's see what you can do."

Ressler finished his coffee and move on to follow the man, not before turning to face Liz, who whispered "careful" while he left the kitchen.

She went back to her room and made sure she locked the door. There wasn't much for her to do there and she wasn't going to be around to raise questions from McGann's men. she decided to try and talk to Red instead, and thought it was even better if she did it somewhere where no one would see her doing it, to alert the man.

She had her burner phone with her, and dialled the number she already knew by heart. No one answered. as it was a burner, there was no voice mail to leave a message to. She just typed a quick "Need to talk. call me ASAP." text and hit send.

Then, she leaned back on the pillows of the bed already made by her personal maid, Lavender. She barely saw the woman, and maybe those were her orders. She felt strange to be somewhere where she didn't need to clean, or tidy up. she had always done that herself in her house. She and Tom.

The bad side of doing nothing all day was that it gave time for thoughts to come. "Empty mind is the devil's workshop", they said. She remembered Tom, and all the great moments she lived with him. Her wedding day, and her honeymoon. He was so perfect then, she could barely believe it was true. If only she had known.

It was a simple wedding, only family and friends. Her father Sam gave her away and Tom wore a nice black suit, looking so handsome there for her. They had a simple reception at her father's house and then ran away for the honeymoon.

that night, the wedding night, they stood on the balcony at the hotel they had booked to stay in before the trip, half-naked, drinking champagne and making plans. That's when she decided she wanted to adopt before having kids of her own, as there are too many kids in need of a home already in the world. Tom once said that this decision made him love her more, and she wondered if it were true.

Recalling all the moments of her marriage made her ponder about Jacob and his promise that, although it had been all just a job, he had truly fallen in love with her in the end. She had to admit she still loved the idea, still missed all of that. But now, after last night, something had changed in her heart.

If for a moment or so she actually considered giving Jacob a change, it was all gone now. Whatever happened last night with Ressler had been too intense, too real to disconsider. She wondered if he thought about it during the two years they worked as partners. She never did, however, she couldn't deny she looked at him in different ways sometimes, admiring his eyes and his freckles, observing his muscled body as they trained together. He was a handsome man, and she was a woman, so it wasn't a sin.

But the most important thing of it all was that for the first time in so many years she knew exactly what was going on in her bed. She often thought about the many times she slept with Tom and how many times he must have woken up afterwards to meddle in her files, look through her cell phone, try to find something to give to Berlin. She even thought of that one time she slept with him after she already knew, and how disgusted she felt. Then she asked herself what she had thought when she gave Jacob a second change on the boat. Damn, she shouldn't have.

she lay down on the bed and hugged a pillow, trying to figure out what she was going to do. For now, she and Ressler were in opposite sides, officially, and she wouldn't blame him for doing his job. Also, what would happen after all this was over, if it ever finishes? they would just start dating, like normal people? Absolutely nothing about their relationship seemed normal. She was sure that even if she was exonerated of all charges, she would never be an FBI agent again. She did kill the Attourney General, no false accusations there, and despite of him being a jackass who was threatening all the people she loved and cared and was totally begging to be killed, she wouldn't be welcomed back as a hero, for sure. She had no idea what else she could do with her life. Teach? work in a shop? whatever that is, it wouldn't be enough to fill the void that opened in her heart ever since she ran for the first time. Besides, she would completely understand if Ressler chose to have a respectable life to honor his career with the agency, and then chose not to be with her to do it. She was considering herself the dirtiest of the bad guys. With a broken heart, she decided to tell Ressler that it had been a one time thing.

That said, her cellphone bipped. she opened the flip and spoke. "Red?"

The calming and strong voice she learned to love came from the other end. "What is it, Lizzie? Is everything alright? Is Charles treating you right?"

"Well, we need to talk about Charles."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Ok, guys. sorry I took so long to write this, I haven't been feeling well lately. It's getting harder to write it because it's so different from where the show is, but I have to remember it's fanfic so we're allowed to do things diferent, right? Please, remember to review and give ideas/opinions, it helps a lot.**

 **I am wondering if I should start a new story - aka a new side of this story, just as I moved from "The Gala" to here, as if they were episodes - let me know what you think.**

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Mr. Charles McGann had very light and clean office. If he didn't know better, Ressler could believe that man was a respected lawyer, or something of the kind. a big bookcase filled with books of all kinds on the left wall, a big painting and a plant on the right, and a big window behind his desk. He noticed that the painting was big enough to hide a safe, and that right next to the bookcase there was a door. A bathroom, maybe? or a secret room no one got in. The man had a hard time trying to maintain the reputation that kept him away from trouble, even from the people who did all those bad things for him.

He entered the room behing McGann and two other men, and then a third one came behind him and closed the door. The two men sat on the two armchairs in front of the desk, leaving Ressler and the other one standing.

"Why is he here?" said the man on the chair to the left, pointing to Ressler, and for a moment he feared he would be discarted and thrown out. He was the new guy, anyway, and this meeting seemed too serious for new guys.

"I like him" said McGann, in a tone that made the man understand that he's the boss, stop asking questions. Ressler felt his FBI instincts tingle a bit, but decided to ignore them to pay attention to the man in the central desk.

"So, as you know, we have a very important investment to collect. I have received news that we will soon see my money being used for great, and you will be part of this. My friends need some trusted men to a very important task, and I have decided to send you. I hope you can honour my name and make sure I become their most trusted partner, after all, you know how much I like to be on the top."

Ressler had a feeling that all that shady discourse without names had to do with the Cabal, and felt proud of himself to be part of that taskforce. I meant to go away from Liz, and that made him think. If he wanted to be Assistant director of an FBI taskforce with honours, he should call in and tell his partners that Elizabeth Keen, number one of the top most wanted list, was right there, go get her. But right now, he just wanted to go to this whatever the hell it was for McGann, get proof that the Cabal existed, and clear her name and end this once and for all. For the first time in his life ever since he decided to join the FBI he was questioning their methods, and wanted to do things with his own hands. Not the first, he thought. He acted by himself once, when Audrey died in the crossfire.

He left the room with less information that when he entered, but with a new place to go, that most likely would take him to the Cabal. maybe they wouldn't need to use McGann at all. it would take them directly to the lion's den.

He took advantage of the fact that everybody was distracted and went to Liz's room.

She was sitting in bed, cellphone in her hand, looking worried. She turned when he entered the room and locked the door, and then she moved to the edge of the bed, and looked just like she was leaning on it.

"How was it?"

"I'm in"

"In what?"

"I don't know yet, McGann is really misterious. He said we are going to join forces in a task of an organization he is investing, and that is very promising. Sounds like the Cabal to me. Now he's talking to his most trusted men, and I had to leave the room, clearly. But I'm in the group that's going."

"That's great, actually". She seemed concerned. "I talked to Red. He's not happy. I think he might come and deal with McGann himself."

Ressler thought that it would actually be a good thing to have Red finishing things here, while he moved into the group working with the Cabal. Once again his FBI self was shut by the man who wanted Liz safe. It was a big fight inside him, but seeing her there in front of him helped clear the reasons for that. He approached her, leaning on the bed next to her, but when he tried to get her hands and comfort her, she stepped away.

"Ress, I..."

damn. She was sorry. she had seconds thoughts. It's not what she wants. Donald Ressler acted with his heart and was fooled, that's pathetic. His FBI self was winning now.

"Please, understand. It's not what you are thinking?" what exactly am I thinking, Liz? That you are sorry you slept with me? that you don't want my help? that?

"I want you to know that what happened last night meant a lot to me, and I'm not sorry." Oh, ok. really? "I thought about it a lot this afternoon and I don't know if it is a good idea, though."

"what? why not?"

"You are head of the task force responsible to bring me in, Ressler. It's your career in the line. What do you think will happen if the FBI knows that I'm here, all this time and you didn't call in? Or did you?"

"No, I didn't. and I won't. I'm tired, Liz. I hate hunting you. I've tried to tell you so many times. I don't like this situation. and I'm willing to help you clear your name."

"and then what? people will just forget that I was accused of terrorism? that I was on the most wanted list? that I killed the attourney general? those things won't go away, Donald." She called him Donald, and was a bit of intimacy that he was craving for. In one single movement, he pulled her in and kissed her, passionately. She had tears in her eyes and he felt them on his cheeks as they fell. she stopped the kiss, but kept close, hands on his neck. "I will ruin your like, Donald."

"Yeah, you already have." he confessed. "the moment I fell in love with you."

she stepped away to look into his eyes, and saw that he was being honest. She didn't expect that. "and when was that?"

"the moment you looked for my help with Tom, when you thought he was going to leave you. and when you found out about him, how you trusted me with all you were doing. We have been accomplices before, Liz. We can do this."

She took a deep breath. She had loved him then too, she just didn't know that. "It's much harder than me being suspitious of my husband."

"you locked your husband in an old ship for 4 months, remember? that's very criminal, already." he smiled a little. "Just trust me, will you?" and he kissed her in the forehead as she leaned closer to fit herself in his arms. they sat together on the bed and stayed like this for a few minutes before the cellphone bipped again. Liz moved away, searching for the device, wiping the tears when she opened the flip, and then grabbed Ressler's hand, scared. he turned his attention to the message on the screen.

 _"We're moving in. stay out of the way. 30 min and you will be out of there"_ It was a message from Red. He was pissed,and he would make sure McGann knew it. Liz turned to Ressler nervous, and rushed him out. "you need to go! See if that group is already leaving, and rush them. You can't lose this trail, and you can't be here when Red comes in. He doesn't know you are undercover, he would flip out! he doesn't trust you. Now go!" she was pushing him out, but he struggled against her nervousness to kiss her again. then he cupped her head on his hands and looked deep into her eyes to say.

"I will have to call the attack in, alert the FBI. it's the only way they don't suspect I'm going against the investigation. If they remove me from the task force, we won't be able to help you. I'll give it an hour before saying anything. Make sure to tell Red and get the hell out of here yourself. I'll go into the depths of it, and I will save you, Liz."

She kissed him again, and then rushed him out. then, she locked the door and went to collect her things. She had no idea what Red was going to do, but she didn't want to be one of those men outside. it was going to be dirty.


	7. Chapter 7

The group was not ready to go. Not at all. The men were sitting in the living room, some eating, some messing with their phones, some talking and laughing as if that was a walk in the park. Ressler had no idea how to rush them, and somehow he felt panicked. He knew whatever Red had prepared, it wasn't going to be pretty. He approached the so-called leader, Jason, he thought, and asked. "so, when are we going to leave for Mr. McGann's orders?"

"Not today, bro. chill" the man said, and Ressler did anything but chill. If they were not set to go today, there was no way to get out of there before Red showed up. Those men would die, and he had two choices. Either be there, show himself to Red and see what he does with that picture, or get out by himself, but them probably lose a great opportunity to find out more about the Cabal's connection with McGann. He decided to use the little time he had to find out more about the mission.

"So, where are we supposed to go?" The man looked at him with the corner of his eyes, suspiciously. He had to be more convincing than that, he thought. He wondered how Samar would get the information. And then tried to ignore all the horribly sexist ideas he had. Of course she would get it in a great way. He tried to look chill by getting a pack of doritos from the table and leaning back on the sofa. He opened the bag, and started chewing the snacks, realising that was a hell of a long time with the guy just looking at him and him trying to look cool. And that he hated doritos.

"It's in the west. we are supposed to meet in an old house, at 8am tomorrow. They will fill us in on the plan there."

"and do you know what we are going to do?" he threw another dorito into his mouth, and hated every second of it.

"No, they will fill us in there." now the guy looked at him as if he was the stupidiest of the morons. Ok, as long as he stopped being suspicious. "But I think it's going to be a heist."

Heist? then maybe nothing to do with the Cabal. Why would they steal a place?

"I don't know. I know we are going to invade somewhere. top secret." Ok, now it sounds like Cabal. But where? maybe a secret facility? there was no way of knowing more. that guy didn't know anything. No one else did. and Charles was not going to tell him. specially not after today. He stood up, leaving the doritos far away from him, and then went to the kitchen to get some water.

Finally with the horrible taste out of his mouth, he stood there and observed the men chilling in the living room. In a way, it was a good deal, if you are a poor guy with no prospects and no opportunities. This guy offers you a home, food and money in exchange for some things that may be illegal, but he's careful enough to have a reputation. He thought that maybe some of those men didn't even know that what they were doing was illegal. Maybe some of them were actually good guys trying to make a living.

Liz came into the kitchen in a rush she didn't even noticed he was at the door. She rushed by him and went straight to the pantry. he went after her, paying attention to see if someone noticed their conversation.

"Keen" she jumped startled when he touched her arm.

"God! Ress! you are still here?"

"Any news on Red?"

"no!" she whispered, getting closer to him to make sure no one heard it. "I don't know where he is, or when he's coming in. You shouldn't be here!"

"The plan starts tomorrow. no one's leaving." she looked at the men and was probably thinking some of the same things he was. she looked as if she felt sorry for those people. then she turned to him. "Get out then!"

"No!I have to keep my cover!"

"The only way to keep your cover is if you are one of the bodies after Red is through with this place. Get out! You can follow the lead from the FBI".

"I won't leave you".

"You have to, Agent Ressler, or you'll have to take me in."

"maybe I should" she looked shocked with his words "Then you would be safe"

"and you would get a medal, probably. do you wanna call for back-up, stop Red's attack and bring him in also?"

"Not a bad idea, actually" She seemed really upset. he then touched her arm to reassure her.

"Not doing anything, Liz. want to help, not a medal, remember?" he said, trying not to sound offended with the fact that for a second she actually thought he cared for what he could get with that catch. There was a time he would really look forward to something like this, when he was hunting Red, he would actually dream about it. But then the man turns himself in, mocks him and calls for a rookie to be his handler. Why care about career anyway?

"Ok, then, get out of.." there was no time to finish the sentence. an explosion caught everybody off guard. Some of the men were hit by it, the others stood up, confused, reaching for their gun. In the kitchen, Ressler jumped instinctively over Liz, and then they stood behind the counter, hidden, him using his body to shield her. A well-known voice came from the living room, making an entrance.

"Good afternoon, boys. I've come to talk to daddy." Red said, in his typical satirical tone, while his men took place to protect him and aim for the other guys, who were still trying to figure out what to do. "Where is Charles McGann?"

The man Ressler was talking to, Jason, came forward and pointed a gun at Red. "No way, old man, get the hell out." Red just rolled his eyes and shot the guy, who fell with a thud.

"Anybody else wants to be protective over dad?" Reddington was waving his gun around, looking completely indiferent to the guns pointed at him, when Charles McGann entered the room.

"Reddington. What a pleasure." the man said, opening his arms, but staying at a safe distance. His men still kept their guns pointed, so did the men on the other side.

"How are you, Charles? I've come to pick up Lizzie, if you don't mind."

"Oh, well. She has had such a fun time here, I don't think she will want to go with you anymore."

"where is she, Charles?" Red changed his tone, no more fun and banter. He was being dead serious.

"Actually, Red. I don't know. That girl is so perky. she is not in her room" Lizzie now felt glad she had decided to come raid the pantry. They were probably in her room to get her when Red invaded the premises. She felt scared, and pulled Ressler closer. she now had two concerns, how to get out of there, and how to get him out of there. She decided to reveal her position.

"I'm here, Red" she screamed, for Ressler's complete surprise. "I'm in the kitchen. I'm fine. I'm alone." she lied. she thought she would get out of there, and then leave Ressler behind.

"Hello, Liz, my dear." she heard the voice come closer, and dreaded her decision. She didn't imagine that Red would come for her personally. When he looked over the counter and found them both, he just laughed. McGann asked what was so funny.

"You know, Charles. You are so stupid. Not only did you think that it would be a smart thing to go against me and getting involved with the Cabal, but you completely unknowingly accepted an FBI agent into your little family." Dammit, Red! Liz cursed him and tried to sign him not to do that, Ressler is on our side, but it was too late.

"FBI?"

"Not only FBI, but a big fish, my friend. Donald Ressler, assistant director of the FBI. Why would he put himself on the line instead of sending one of his agents, who are much more qualified for undercover job, is what surprises me." Ressler crossed eyes with Red, but kept hidden behind the counter, with Liz gripping his shirt. They were holding hands, and Red noticed that. What he meant by revealing Ressler like that was what neither of them understood. It's not like he would leave Charles McGann alive after that.

"Now, Charles, my friend. You can sit down there and tell me everything our friends in the Cabal are planning, before I kill you, of course". Several men came forward to block Charles from him, and one of them shot, hitting the fridge behind Red. It was enough to start the shooting. Red could only see McGann running towards the corridor behind him before having to hide behind the counter, next to Liz.

"Very nice to see you, Agent Ressler. Could never imagine to do that here, though."

"What was that? Why did you turn him in like that?"

"I just wanted to tease Charles a little bit, and you, of course." He threw a gun to Liz, and then kept shooting to keep the men away."Sorry,Donald, no gun for you. I'm sure you have your ways." Ressler removed his own gun from his sock, and helped in the shooting.

"Lizzie, go to the front door, Dembe is out there waiting for you."

"Dembe? is he alright?"

"Not really, but he will be. He demanded to come, he was worried sick about you. Now go, my dear, We'll cover for you. Unless Agent Ressler has other plans."

Ressler just kept shooting to cover for Liz, and actually shot a man who was getting close to hit Red. Liz kissed him on the cheek, said thank you, and then started moving towards the door.

"So, Donald. If you could please fill me in about this sudden closeness with you and Lizzie, it would be great." Red said, sounding like a jealous father.

"It's none of your business, Reddington. but if you need to know, I'm willing to help, now. And I got an idea on how."

"And may I ask how?"

"McGann was going to send a team somewhere in the west of the city tomorrow morning, to help out in a plan by some organization he is really interested in taking over. Sounds like the Cabal to me" he shot another man.

"Seems like it, I agree. But I don't think he will have any men left after this."

"Well, the Cabal doesn't need to know, does it? I am still undercover. you have your men. we can say we were sent by McGann".

"I like the way you're thinking Donald, really outside the box. Now, follow me, because we need to interview Charles a little bit more."

He covered for Red, but there weren't many men left. Red's men took over and killed the ones left, and then they just walked over to where McGann had disappeared to.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

They entered McGann's office to find it completely empty, except that Ressler knew better, and went straight to the hidden door next to the book case, with Red by his side. They tried to open it, but it was locked, and then Resser shot the doorknob, for the surprise of Raymond Reddington. "Very outside the box, indeed. Whatever happened between you and Lizzie, it was strong" He tried not to show how correct the man was, and just ignored his comments by opening the busted door. McGann was in there, shielded by two men helding guns. Donald entered with his gun up high, followed by Red, who wasn't pointing his.

"C'mon, Charles, stop with it already. You look ridiculous behind this wall"

"It's over Reddington. The Cabal will win and your precious little FBI taskforce will crumble. and your girl, Elizabeth, will face charges and will probably get the needle for her terrorist attacks. The man you had behind Karakurt has been caught, and the taskforce will be attacked tomorrow, and you can't stop it."

so that was the mission he was sending his men to. Ressler would only find out he was about to attack his friends at the last minute, if Reddington hadn't raided McGann's house. The man then gave away all the plans, partially because he thought it could scare Reddington, but also because he knew he was a dead man already.

"Just give it up, already, Charles. I don't want to kill two more people before I get to you, it's too tiring." Red screamed, but clearly worried about the revelations he had just heard. When one of the men started shootin at them, forcing them to take over from outside the room, Red finally raised his gun and killed both men before Ressler could do anything, with a single shot to the chest. He was trained, after all.

Charles McGann was hidding behind a couch, crouching ridiculously with his hands covering his head. Red took him over by the collar of his shirt and sat him down in front of them. McGann spit in Red's face, what really irritated the man even more. Then, he turned to Ressler.

"And don't you think I didn't know about you, little soldier. You should've kept it in your pants if you wanted do to a good job. One of my men heard your late night conversations with the princess, and I just sent you to die right after knowing we would attack your taskforce. And then send pictures of you and her together. Don't you think it's all over and done with my death. Your career is over. As soon as you go back, you'll be removed."

Ressler listened to that and felt as if a knife had hit him right in the gut. he was paralised, thinking about all crumbling into pieces, and how the FBI was up their ears with shit from the Cabal, and he wouldn't be able to protect Liz anymore. He thought about Samal and Aram seeing the photos, thinking whatever they wanted about him. He just wished his partners would see that as an "ok" to their impending wish to help Liz escape. He was now on the run too.

Red let out a bored sigh and then shot McGann twice in the chest. the man widened his eyes before closing them, gone forever. Red then turned to Ressler, still in shock.

"Donald. donald! Go, get three of my men and infiltrate the action. Let Samar and Aram know about the attack. I don't think Charles told the Cabal about you and Liz, he probably just ordered one of his goons to kill you. We don't know if the FBI has really received any photos. I'll take care of this. Now go. keep the plan."

"What if they have, Red? Whoever they put there to lead the taskforce will want Liz dead, and us too. It's all doomed."

"You work for me, now, Donald, and you know nobody in the FBI can be trusted. No one at all. It's all Cabal for all we know. If you want to protect Liz, if you love her, you'll do as I say".

Ressler thought briefly how ironic it was to be following orders from the criminal he had hunted for 5 years of his life, and nearly cost him everything. Now, side by side, the fought against the enemy within.

It was like when he said to him when Anslo Garrick had invaded the post office, and they were both locked inside a Cage and Red had saved his life. Enemies, allies, it all depended on the situation they were in. And right now, being Raymond Reddington's ally was his best choice. they could hate on each other later. Once again the post office was being threatened, but now he knew before it and could prevent it. would prevent it, as he nodded to Red and went away.

* * *

 **A/N - Ok, so to my view, this story as Undercover is over. I will continue the story with the attack on the post office later, in another story, ok? thanks a lot for reading, hope you liked it. Please review!**


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